


The Kids Are Alright

by Inrainbowz



Series: In Any Other World - Malec AU Collection [10]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Like both of them are single dads, M/M, Single Parents, and teachers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 12:03:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8371624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inrainbowz/pseuds/Inrainbowz
Summary: 24. Teachers with a strong rivalry AU  Magnus taught them about magic. He often made demonstrations, made them practice simple exercises to build up their resistance against magical forces, and he conjured small animals made of light for them to play with at the end of his class.  Alec taught history, and as interested as the children could sometimes be about not so old events, he still taught history.  Basically, Alec Lightwood was jealous.  Sort of a continuation from I Believe The Children Are Our Future but can be read on its own.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I said I would do this AU as a follow up to [that previous one](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7993006), and I did, cause Magnus and Alec as single dads give me life. And like that previous one, what could have been a light and bubbly thing turned out a bit angsty on the edge... When will I stop torturing my poor Alec.
> 
> Something sweet to apologize for my Romeo & Juliet AU. Thanks to NightChanger fo the corrections, enjoy!

Alec really loved to teach. Had he been allowed to choose what he wanted to do in life, without any pressure and obligations, he would have been a teacher.

But he wasn’t. He was the youngest Head the New York Institute had ever seen, one of the best Shadowhunters of his generation, and a single dad. As such, teaching wasn’t his job. In fact, it was one of the very few hours of his schedule he did willingly and for his own pleasure.

His sister, who loved to mock him, never missed an occasion to point out that things like teaching children as a hobby were the reason why he was pathologically single. If it was the case, it was killing two birds with one stone: do something he loved, and prevent something he was avoiding at all cost.

He had no interest in dating. His life was busy enough as it was, and it wasn’t a need he ever felt. His mother’s attempt to marry him off when he was younger had ruined the institution in his eyes. Not that it mattered – maybe mundanes recognized gay marriage, but Shadowhunters surely didn’t.

So yeah, Alec saw his history hours at the Shadow World school of New York as a reprieve.

Or well, he used to.

Because for a few months there had been a new addition to the school, and Alec didn’t know what to make of it. Of him.

He had only met Magnus Bane when they had had to come to the school to deal with their wayward sons, but of course he had heard of him before. Powerful and extravagant, volatile and glamourous, providing excellent service but for terribly high prices, he had a fairly good idea of the type of man he was. But he wasn’t prepared for dealing with the real thing. When he had given Magnus his card, he fully expected him to never use it.

He had been wrong. Only a few days later, Magnus had called. To this day, Alec wasn't exactly sure why. They had just talked. Well, Magnus had talked, had asked a lot and shared a lot too, and Alec had struggled to keep up while wondering what was happening. They had done that several times. They had even meet up a few times, for dinner, or drinks. Alec would have said that they had become friends, but for one, Magnus was a lot to handle and Alec was always sure the man would end up getting on his nerve, until they parted and he realized it was the exact opposite. And for two...

There was no denying it, Magnus had been... had been flirting. With him.

Now that was a wild concept. Alec didn't believe it at first, but even he couldn't be that dense, Izzy pointed out when they talked about it. So even if it didn't make any sense, it was a fact: High Warlock of Brooklyn Hot as Hell Magnus Bane was flirting with him.

Which was the reason why lessons at the school weren't the sanctuary they used to be. Because a few weeks after that encounter and the beginning of their... friendship, Magnus had expressed a sudden interest in teaching the children too.

Luke and Jocelyn, who administrated the school, were delighted – since Ragnor’s passing, there had been no warlock among the teachers. They had tried to hire Catarina Loss several times, but had never ask Magnus for some reasons. His candidacy had been a surprise, but they weren’t going to deny him.

Now, Alec wasn't paranoid, but he didn't teach that often, and he found it very odd that his very few and far between hours always seemed to match Magnus's.

The man was always there, a few classroom over, waving at him with a bright smile at the end of the lessons. How was Alec supposed to relax in that case? Magnus had never made any bold move, and Alec was left wondering, and maybe… well, wanting. He didn’t know what he wanted, or what Magnus wanted from him. He didn’t know anything.

And it wasn't even the worst.

The worst thing was that the children _liked_ Magnus.

Okay, so it wasn't a bad thing of course. But they really, really liked him. And for some reason, they believed Alec should be very aware of that fact.

It was always Magnus this, Magnus that. Even Rafael couldn't talk enough about their awesome warlock teacher. Alec was glad that a warlock was so loved by the children, he really was.

But he was also a bit frustrated.

Magnus taught them about magic. Warlock or not, the children of the Shadow World could do good use of a basic knowledge of magic and how to fight or counter it. How to spot it too, how to make out the good magic from the bad. He often made demonstrations, made them practice simple exercises to build up their resistance against magical forces, and he conjured small animals made of light for them to play with at the end of his class.

Alec taught history, and as interested as the children could sometimes be about not so old events, he still taught history.

Basically, Alec Lightwood was jealous.

Not that he would admit that, ever. It was stupid and childish. He didn’t come to the school to be liked. He taught things he thought were important, he tried to bring his own contribution to fighting prejudices and hate. Not to entertain children, and certainly not to become friends with them.

And yet.

Yet every time he heard them, every time he heard Rafael, praise the warlock and how cool and awesome he was, Alec couldn’t help but feel envious. If it was only for his subject, but there was something else. When Shadowhunters could be dismissive or disrespectful of Downworlder teachers, the reverse was even worse. They were scared of him. The faeries snubbed him all right, but the werewolves and the few warlocks they had, he knew the reason why they behave in his class wasn’t because he was so interesting and worthy of being listened to. He hated it. He had always hated inducing fear in anyone, and especially into people who, if it was a perfect world, should see him as a protector, an ally.

So yeah, he was totally jealous.

He was also terribly late.

One thing that was very incompatible with Shadowhunting was any strictly scheduled activity. Like, say, teaching. If he took the time to go back to the Institute and change clothes, classes would be over before he was back. His phone had been lost in the battle, and he wanted to at least drop by to see if someone could fill in or at least, know that his class was unattended.

He also had this thing about wanting to see Rafael after any dangerous fight against demons, although nobody needed to know that.

So he rushed to his classroom, bow and quiver still strapped on his back and clothes covered in ichor and blood, admittedly not thinking it was a big deal to show up like that in front of children. They were from the Shadow World, they were used to it.

However, his class wasn’t abandoned and running wild like he had thought. No, when he arrived, he found them, and the class down the hall, all gathered around a teacher telling them a story from a big old leather bound book.

And that teacher, of course, was Magnus.

All heads turned toward him and if Magnus looked pleased to see him, the children looked mainly very impressed. He realized it had been stupid of him to come straight here - he looked like... well he looked like he had been doing exactly what he was doing. Slaying leaking demons and getting his clothes ruined, again.

His students didn't look put off though. On the contrary. The Shadowhunters kids were in awe, and even the Downworlders seemed admiring, if a little warier.

"Dad! What happened? Did you fight with demons?" exclaimed Rafael running toward him. Alec had been worried it would throw his son off to have him as a teacher, maybe make things difficult with the other children. His worries had been for nothing though (like they often were) – Rafael loved to show off his Head-of-the-Institute-amazing-Shadowhunter of a dad.

"Yeah. I’m really sorry, it was an emergency," he added to Magnus with an apologetic look.

"It's fine, don’t' worry, I figured."

He wanted to add something, but he was suddenly crowded with students who had forgotten all about their temporary teacher.

"Is that demon blood?"

"How many were there?"

"Can I touch your bow?"

Alec cast a helpless look to Magnus who seemed caught off guard by that sudden frenzy. His son, who was sitting on his father’s lap, jumped on Alec too, ignoring Magnus. He tried to calm them a bit, but they weren't listening. Apparently a Shadowhunter fresh from a fight trumped a warlock.

Alec tried no to feel too smug about it.

It was so childish of him, but it was the first time the children seemed genuinely pleased to see him, impressed and interested, and he wanted to enjoy it, if only a little.

Magnus, seeing that there was no stopping them, at least came to his rescue to save him from death by children mob. Alec unhooked his bow and quiver from his back to present it to them, and he wanted to say he didn't get why they were so excited by this, but it would have been hypocritical of him. He clearly remembered being this age himself and being fascinated with weapons and fighting, training and studying the subject passionately. There was few things he loved more than his parents sharing that with him. Also because it was almost the only things they shared, yeah, but still.

He gave them his arrows, keeping a frightened eye on them to make sure they wouldn't hurt themselves. He tried to answer their questions to the best of his abilities. The Shadowhunter kids were eager to learn more, a thing he wasn't entirely comfortable with. Their education was widely different from what his had been. Now that they were mostly at peace with the Downworlders, with a way more harmonized relationship, they did a lot of mediation and diplomacy, and a lot less fighting. They had the Downworlders by their side to fight demons, and there was less and less attack. They didn’t train their children to be soldiers from birth anymore. That didn't mean they couldn't fight, or didn't want to.

"How many demons did you kill?"

"Did you get hurt? Was there a lot of blood?"

"Was it cool?"

Alec felt awful all of the sudden. There was a reason why he didn't teach fighting or anything related to it, not even theory. Rafael was beaming with pride, and he was taking advantage of this, because Alec rarely sparred with him or even talked about his fighting. He didn’t want to, that wasn't what he wanted to pass on to him, to them. Fighting wasn't what made them Shadowhunters, part of the Shadow World. It had been once - it was what his own parents had taught him - but he refused it to be his only legacy.

They got hold of his stele and Alec watched, horrified, two of them improvise a mock battle with the glowing blades.

"Okay, that's enough. Give them back," he commanded forcefully, making them jump. They pouted, unwilling. He was losing his temper.

"Now!"

The blades clattered to the floor and he took them back hastily, aware of the frightened and displeased looks focused on him. He tried to find something to say, to soothe the violence of his outburst, but he felt the sudden urge to get out of here.

So he did. He fled the room, suffocating, and he was out of the building before he could even register it.

He was dirty with blood, mud and ichor, he was exhausted and aching, both physically and mentally. He never wanted to bring them into this. For them to know what he had known, to be raised how he had been raised. He wanted them to think about politics, about history, diplomacy, cooperation, peace. To be spared by the violence and the death. He couldn’t blame them for being drawn to this, like he had been himself, but he could blame himself for catering to it.

“Are you okay?”

He jumped and turned, eyes wild, a hand on his stele, only to come face to face with Magnus.

“Who’s with the class?” Alec questioned immediately.

“Luke. I fetched him before coming after you, don’t worry. Are you okay?”

Alec relaxed slightly, but after anguish came anger. It was all Magnus’s fault. He would never have acted like this if it wasn’t for this stupid competitive string, for trying to prove something, to Magnus or to himself, he didn’t know.

“Fine. Tell Luke to take Rafael back to the Institute please. I’ll apologize to him tomorrow,” he said sternly. Magnus stopped him with a hand on his arm before he had a chance to turn around.

He was getting increasingly panicked and Magnus's hands and look on him really wasn’t helping. The man looked confused and angry.

“You should apologize to them too. I don’t know if it has to do with an emotional connection to your weapons or what, but you didn’t have to react like that.”

He had known Magnus for month, and still the warlock was convinced that it was something about Shadowhunter pride. Because he was a Shadowhunter and that’s how Shadowhunters were. Magnus was old, and he had known a lot of Alec’s kind before Alec himself. So Alec would never do enough.

It was always like this. Always. Always he tried and still he couldn’t reach out to anyone. Magnus had been shocked not to be scolded the first time they met, the Downworlders children were still scared of him, and no matter how well the relationship between Shadowhunters and Downworlders progressed, if something went wrong it was on him. He got it. He was the leader, he was at the forefront of this issue, and every misplaced comment, every itch, it was on him. He was never comprehensive enough, respectful enough, firm enough. Whatever he did, never.

“Fuck you.”

He wanted to sound angry but it came out strangled and weak. He turned around to leave and made it as far as two feet away before he felt dizzy. He wasn’t a teenager anymore – he couldn’t fight and go about with his day without feeling anything. He tripped and stumbled, convinced he was going to embrace the ground very soon.

He found himself sitting on the ground, Magnus’s arms supporting him. His worried voice was ringing into his ear but he had trouble making out his words.

“Where is Rafael?”

Magnus paused, confused.

“He’s in the classroom with the others. He’s okay.”

“He doesn’t have to fight. I don’t want him to fight. I worked so hard… I don’t want them to fight. They don’t know any better. They think it’s fun, it’s easy. How old is Max, seven, yeah? Rafael is nine. Do you know how old I was when I killed a demon for the first time? I don’t want them to want to. I don’t want them to believe it’s a cool thing, it’s glorious, because it’s not, it’s not. Do you know how old I was the first time I killed a Downworlder?”

Words were pouring out of his mouth, wild and unrestricted, as were tears from his eyes, quiet and uninterrupted. He sat knees to his chest, his fist clenched in his hair. He was breaking down.

“Alexander, it’s okay. I’m sorry for what I said. They’re just curious, it’s not your fault.”

“No, it’s yours,” Alec answered abruptly. He scrambled to his feet to put some distance between them.

“What?”

“It’s your fault. You’re always here and I always see you, and they love you, the kids, because you’re funny and nice and harmless, they trust you. They’re happy to see you, and I get it, I am too, but I’m also mad, and I can’t help it. I never brought weapons in class. They asked, but I never did, I don’t want to. I just wanted to make them happy, like you do. I use to not care. It’s your fault.”

He wanted to sound angry. He was failing. He was just whining, like a child, not making any sense, accusing the man of things that were Alec’s fault. He was just so tired.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

His face was hidden in his hands, trying to contain the flow of his frustrated tears, so he didn’t notice Magnus had gotten closer until he felt his hands on his own, prying them away gently. He resisted weakly before giving up. Magnus was looking up at him with a strange mix of emotions on his face, both awed and sad, sorry and endeared. Like he did every time Alec surprised him. But why? Why was he still surprised, why couldn’t he believe that’s how Alec was?

“Why are you always looking at me like that? After all this time I wish… I wish you knew better,” Alec whispered. He couldn’t help but lean into Magnus’s hand cupping his face.

“I know, you’re right, I’m sorry. I do know better, I know how great you are, at what you do, with the children. I’m sorry.”

Alec felt terribly guilty. Magnus had done nothing wrong, it was all on him.

“I shouldn’t have lost it like that. Angels, I have trouble enough for them to like me and now… I’m just…”

He trailed off, getting lost in Magnus’s eyes. His gaze was intense, and he wore his eyes unglamoured, yellow cat pupils glowing in the darkening light of the day. Alec suddenly remembered something Izzy had told him a few weeks ago.

“My sister told me she didn’t know what your demon marks was.”

It had nothing do with anything, but he felt the urge to broach the subject now, because he couldn’t remember the last time Magnus had hidden his true eyes from him.

“I don’t show them to just anybody,” Magnus answered with a knowing smile Alec wanted to kiss. But Magnus went on.

“Alexander, you do know I came to the school because of you, right? Not because I wanted to see you, well, not only, but… I’ve been alive for a long time. I’ve met a lot of Shadowhunters and disliked most of them. I admit, I gave up on your lot. I never believed you would be able to change, that peace could be possible between us. And you… you’re so young. To have rallied Lily and Maia to your side, and to be teaching the danger of the past, how not to repeat it, you’re so young and you’ve done so much, it made me feel guilty. I gave up on that but you… You made me want to try again. To be part of that.”

Alec almost wished Magnus would stop talking, because his words were too much for him to bear and his mouth too distracting, but he couldn’t get enough of his voice either. His words poured inside of him, soothing, reassuring, and, he didn’t know if it was an allusion or if there was really something more behind them, healing.

“And when I went to the school for the first time… I couldn’t believe what they’d been taught. They knew about the vampire craze of the 90s and what had caused it, they knew how power was passed through all the neighboring werewolves and vampire clan, they knew the truth about Valentine – Shadowhunters and Downworlders, they knew all, and they didn’t question that story, didn’t try and justify their side, make them look good. And yes, maybe they still fight and insult each other but… I thought it was such a foolish idea, this school, until I came teach here. I couldn’t understand why Max wanted to stay. But I do now. And you have a lot to do with it. They listen to what you say. And if they were raised better, I know you are to be thanked for it too.”

Alec closed his eyes. He couldn’t take how Magnus was looking at him, how fond and sweet, how loving.

“And well, I’m glad you think I’m good with the kids. I was just trying to impress you,” added Magnus with a shameless wink. Alec laughed softly.

“I don’t believe that,” he said. Magnus’s smile lost his playful edges to softer, more vulnerable ones.

“Why did you never kiss me?” Alec whispered in the small space between them. It felt like the most important things to ask right now. Magnus laughed a little, charmed.

“I… wasn’t sure you’d be okay with that.”

“Really?”

“I’ve… never been with a Shadowhunter before. And we became friends but…”

“It’s always about this, right?” Alec said, pained.

“I’m just a bitter old man, I don’t know any better. I’m willing to have my views changed though. It’s true you kept surprising me. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I didn’t trust you.”

Magnus was pulling Alec’s face closer to his, gently, minutely, as if he wanted Alec not to notice.

“We should… we should go back,” Alec tried weakly. He didn’t know why – he really didn’t want to move at all.

“Not now, not now,” Magnus pleaded softly, before kissing him.

They kissed, unhurried and slow, Alec’s face trapped in Magnus’s hand and Alec hands resting on Magnus’s side, standing close together on the grass between the school and the Institute. For Alec who never did anything impulsive in his life, who was always tempered and levelheaded, it felt wild, scary, and, frankly speaking, amazing. He hadn’t even been convinced Magnus wanted to kiss him before asking him, but he had asked anyway. It was stupid to feel so proud about something so trivial. But he did, he did.

They stopped to look at each other, and smiled, and then they kissed again. But Alec was becoming increasingly aware that the official end of the class would come up soon and they wouldn’t be alone anymore. They needed to go back.

“You should still go to them,” Magnus suggested when they finally parted. “They can hear it. Tell them that it’s okay to play but that fighting for real is not as nice as they think. Tell them the story you teach are all recent and true, that you and their parents fought themselves so that their children wouldn’t have to.”

“Did you fight?”

“I did, in my time. I could have done more. I could have helped you.”

Alec kissed him again so that he wouldn’t talk anymore and wouldn’t look so sad. They went back inside. Luke looked a little murderous when they found him alone with both their classes, but he seemed to see something in them, because he smiled knowingly and made Alec blush in embarrassment. Alec apologized, and tried to find the words to reach out to these children, to explain. He didn’t know what they understood, but Rafael hugged him afterwards, and told him that even though he thought weapons were cool, he preferred video games. It was ridiculous how much it pleased his father. The parents trickled in to fetch their own sons and daughters, and some were friendly towards another, regardless of their race, and Alec remembered, that, in the end, that was already more than he had hoped for.

He cast a glance at Magnus, who was listening to the enthusiastic recollection of Max’s antics with Rafael – the two boys had become good friends. Magnus smiled warmly at him. And that was _way_ more than Alec had ever hoped for.

**Author's Note:**

> I love you Alec. Feel free to ask for an AU! From [that list](http://jadeandonyx.tumblr.com/post/114779420062/fanfiction-prompts), or something else really, just prompt me. Also, I'm on [tumblr](http://inrainbowz.tumblr.com), and I'm publishing this because I have to work on my dissertation and comments bring me life and force. Thank you for reading!


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